Cyprus permanent residence by marriage to a Cypriot

Third-country nationals (non-European Union Citizens) married to Cypriot citizens can apply for a Cyprus residence permit as family members of a Cypriot. This is a renewable residence permit. It lets the foreign spouse live in Cyprus without a fixed end date for as long as the marriage subsists and the permit stays valid. It is separate from the Category F immigration permit and from residency by investment.

This page covers the forms, the documents, the fees and the timing. Our guide to the Cyprus spouse visa sets out the requirements and the two document routes in full.

What it costs and how long it takes:

• Residence and work permit on form MCYE: €80 to issue or renew.
• Residence permit without employment on form MCYV: €50 to issue or renew.
• Registration in the register of foreigners: €70, charged on first registration only.
• Examination time: about four months from submission, provided the file is complete. The Cypriot spouse has to attend the submission in person.

Who can apply for residence by marriage?

The same route covers other family members of the Cypriot citizen and the foreign spouse:

• children of the Cypriot citizen or of the foreign spouse who are under 21, children from a previous marriage included,
• older children of either spouse who are dependent on the Cypriot citizen,
• dependent parents of the Cypriot citizen,
• dependent parents of the foreign spouse,
• the third-country parent of a Cypriot child who is a minor, where no court decision has removed parental care or the right of contact with the child.

The main benefit is the right to reside in Cyprus without a time limit, for as long as the residence conditions keep being met and a valid permit is held.

Required documents for residence by marriage

The Migration Department publishes two document lists, and which one applies to you turns on where you are when the application starts. Read the list that matches your situation rather than both.

If your Cypriot spouse applies for an entry permit before you arrive

These go in before you travel:

• Copy of your passport or other travel document, with at least two years left to run from the date the application goes in
• Copy of the passport or identity card of the Cypriot citizen. The original is presented at submission
• Marriage certificate, or certificate of civil union
• Non-marriage certificate of the foreign spouse from the country of origin, where applicable, and a non-marriage certificate of the Cypriot citizen from the wedding registrar if the marriage took place abroad
• Original blood analysis results from the country of origin showing the foreign spouse is free of HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B and hepatitis C, with a chest x-ray for tuberculosis
• Original clean criminal record certificate from the country of origin, or from the country of residence where the applicant lives elsewhere
• Proof of stable and sufficient income for the foreign spouse and the Cypriot family member, shown through items such as bank accounts and their movement, pension, rental income, dividends, interest, or recent social insurance contributions

These are added once you are in Cyprus:

• The blood tests and the chest x-ray repeated in Cyprus and certified by a doctor of the Republic
• Full medical insurance covering in-patient care, out-patient care and repatriation of remains, which insurers sell as Plan A, or registration with the General Healthcare System (GESY) together with separate cover for repatriation of remains
• Copy of the passport page showing your last arrival in the Republic and the visa you used
• The original entry permit, form M70
• Certificate of registration with the Social Insurance Services, or registration as self-employed, where applicable

If you are already in Cyprus lawfully and apply here

• Copy of your passport or other travel document, valid for at least six months beyond the residence period you are asking for
• Copy of the passport or identity card of the Cypriot citizen. The original is presented at submission
• Copy of the passport page showing your last arrival in the Republic and the visa you used
• Marriage certificate, or certificate of civil union
• Non-marriage certificate of the foreign spouse from the country of origin, where applicable, and a non-marriage certificate of the Cypriot citizen from the wedding registrar if the marriage took place abroad
• Original blood analysis results showing the foreign spouse is free of HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B and hepatitis C, with a chest x-ray for tuberculosis, certified by a doctor of the Republic
• Original clean criminal record certificate from the country of origin, or from the country of residence where the applicant lives elsewhere
• Full medical insurance covering in-patient care, out-patient care and repatriation of remains, which insurers sell as Plan A, or registration with the General Healthcare System (GESY) together with separate cover for repatriation of remains
• Proof of stable and sufficient income for the foreign spouse and the Cypriot family member, shown through items such as bank accounts and their movement, pension, rental income, dividends, interest, or recent social insurance contributions
• Certificate of registration with the Social Insurance Services, or registration as self-employed, where applicable
• Birth certificate of any child who is a Cypriot citizen, with the child's Cyprus identity card or passport, where applicable
• The title deed of the home, or the rental agreement together with rent payment receipts and recent utility bills from the Electricity Authority of Cyprus or the Water Board. The bills may be in the name of the owner or in the name of the tenant
• Where the title deed has not been issued yet, the contract of sale, proof of the payments made under it, and the Department of Lands and Surveys record on that contract

No stamp duty is payable on a contract of sale or a rental agreement signed on or after 1 January 2026. For contracts signed before 2026 we pay the correct duty to the Inland Revenue Department before the file goes in. The Migration Department checklist still asks for a contract stamped by the Stamps Commissioner, and it has not been revised since the repeal.

Documents issued abroad must carry an apostille stamp, or diplomatic certification where the issuing country is not party to the apostille convention. A document that is not a public one is certified by a certifying authority of that state, for example a notary. Copies are ratified the same way as originals. Each document has to be in Greek or English, or come with a certified translation.

Application procedure

You file at the district Aliens and Immigration Unit of the Cyprus Police for the district where you live. Nicosia district residents file at the Migration Department headquarters, 90 Archbishop Makarios III Avenue in Nicosia.

The Cypriot spouse has to be present at submission. Biometric data is taken from the foreign spouse: a photograph and fingerprints, with a signature at the same time. Only a photograph is taken from a child who has not reached the age of six. Biometrics are taken again on renewal.

A complete application is examined within about four months. The permit duration follows the family member's status and runs up to five years where there is employment. The holder may then keep residing in Cyprus without a time limit, for as long as the conditions are met and the permit is renewed on time.

Renewing the permit

Apply at least one month before your current permit expires. Biometric data is taken again on every renewal, so the appointment is in person.

A change of employer needs a fresh application for the residence and work permit, at the same €80. The €70 registration in the register of foreigners is charged on first registration only and is not repeated on renewals.

Travelling and returning to Cyprus

A valid residence permit and a valid passport get you back into the Republic, provided you have not stayed outside it for more than three months.

With an application still pending, you travel on the receipt for the fees you paid at submission. That receipt bears a Migration Department stamp allowing re-entry. Lose it, and you apply to the department before you leave, explaining why you have to travel. A re-entry permit is granted as a rule only for serious reasons such as medical ones.

The department's page attaches a €10.25 stamp duty to that request form. It was posted on 30 December 2025, one day before the repeal took effect, and no stamp duty has been payable in Cyprus since 1 January 2026. A Cyprus residence permit is not a Schengen visa, so check which countries you can visit with a Cyprus residence permit before booking.

If you married outside Cyprus

A marriage celebrated outside the Republic is used in its foreign form. You produce the marriage certificate issued by the country where you married, carrying an apostille under the 1961 Hague Convention, or diplomatic ratification where that country is not party to the Convention. It has to be in Greek or English, or come with a certified translation.

One extra document attaches to a marriage abroad. The Cypriot spouse needs a non-marriage certificate from the wedding registrar, which a couple married in Cyprus does not need. That is the practical difference the Migration Department checklist draws between the two cases.

The citizenship stage works the same way. Form M125 asks for the original marriage certificate, officially translated and duly certified. The Marriage Law of 2003 governs marriages celebrated in the Republic, so for a wedding held elsewhere the foreign certificate is the document the Cypriot authorities work from. Read more about Cyprus citizenship by marriage.

Citizenship for the foreign spouse

After holding a residence permit, the foreign spouse can apply for Cypriot citizenship when these conditions are met:

• three full years of marriage or civil partnership completed before the date of the application,
• for a couple living in Cyprus, residence in the Republic of at least six months in each of those three years, and a total stay across the three years of not less than two years.

A couple permanently resident abroad applies on the three years alone, with no residence test. The fee is €300 and no language examination applies on this route. The application is form M125 under the Civil Registry Law 141(I)/2002, filed in duplicate.

A couple living in Cyprus files a statement of harmonious cohabitation signed before an authorised officer, and a statement of cohabitation from the local community leader. Couples resident abroad are excluded from the second one.

The Ministry of Interior's own document list for form M125 still asks for two stamps of €8.54 on the application. That list dates from June 2025 and no stamp duty has been payable in Cyprus since 1 January 2026, so the requirement is out of date. The €300 fee is the real cost. If a counter asks for the stamps anyway, call us before you pay.

Government fees

The form depends on whether the foreign spouse will work.

If the foreign spouse will work, the application uses form MCYE:

• residence and work permit, issued or renewed: €80. A change of employer needs a fresh application at the same €80
• registration in the register of foreigners, charged on first registration only: €70

If the foreign spouse will not work, the application uses form MCYV:

• residence permit, issued or renewed: €50
• registration in the register of foreigners, charged on first registration only: €70

Registration in the register of foreigners is what issues your ARC number, the identifier Cyprus assigns to foreign residents.